Need help sinking

[Yikes]

I'm taking my OW certification in Northern Ca and I'm having a lot of trouble sinking. I've searched all the posts on weight adjustment but still have questions. I'm a female, 5'7, 200#. I'm wearing a 7mm farmer john with a 7mm core warmer, and 7 mm Henderson boots. I know I have a lot of buoyancy with the gear but even with 40+lbs of weight, letting all the air out of the bc and a nice relaxed exhale I can't get under. My instructors gave me a pull to the bottom of the pool to do the bc removal skill but they literally had to hold me down to even try. Needless to say this was a bit frustrating and distracting and I wasn't able to get into position to do the skills. When I was able to get under for a time my feet continued to surface and I would find myself back up top. I've picked up ankle weights in hopes it will help with the horizontal when I do get down. Any other ideas? Am I just suffering from the newbie buoyancy syndrome and bad breathing? Any help is appreciated, I'm supposed to do my ocean dive next weekend and I think being underwater would help. :^)

 

[dlndavid]

Yikes!
Welcome to SB, and welcome to the new world of diving, (once you learn how to sink).
I too have problems sinking. It takes me 22-24 lbs w/ a 3 mil full. I will be diving this month in a 7 mil full and expect to add a bunch more weight. I guess as we get more experience, we use less weight. Let's keep practicing and not make liars out of many here on the board.
David

 

[DORSETBOY]

when you assess your buoyancy you should have the water level at your eyes holding a full breath with no air in your bc. This means that if you breathe out, you will be negatively buoyant and sink.

It's a bad habit that a lot of people get into when they take loads of weight unnecessarily to get them down. If you do you will find that you use more air than you should and will find it difficult to hover comfortably.

Good buoyancy skills to pracice for all divers new and old are things like hovring and the fin pivot. With the latter, you will be lying on the bottom of the pool, add a small amount of air to your bc and then breathe in, you should find that you pivot on your fins with your legs straight out, as you breathe in the top of your body will rise and then as youe exhale the top of your body will descend. This will help you to appreciate how controlling your breathing aids your buoyancy.

remember though that when you start anything new, it takes time to get used to things like this and with practice you will get a lot out of your diving.

pm me if I canhelp with anything else.

Greg Jenkins

 

[Scot M]

Some of it is undoubtedly the "newbie buoyancy syndrome", as you so aptly called it. The amount of neoprene you are wearing is probably an equally big part of the problem. 7mm farmer john plus a 7mm core warmer? That's 21mm of very floaty neoprene on your torso.

Why not give it a try it without the core warmer? Better yet, give it a go in a one-piece wetsuit. That way you can learn your basic skills without fighting all of that buoyancy. Later on, if you really need it, you can add some layers back on.

 

[BabyDuck]

yikes, also remember that getting under the first 20 feet or so is the tough part. wear what you need to - i started with about 43 lbs (same general height and weight, and less neoprene than you) but am down to about 18 after only 17 dives. do what it takes for now, and recheck *every* dive. it will come off. i also had to use ankle weights at first, but now use one on the tank as trim weight. keep trying to make yourself better and don't worry one bit about what others think about what it takes for YOU. on the plus side, i might die in the water, but it won't be from drowning! i float too well!

 

[Kriterian]

I'm taking my OW certification in Northern Ca and I'm having a lot of trouble sinking. I've searched all the posts on weight adjustment but still have questions. I'm a female, 5'7, 200#. I'm wearing a 7mm farmer john with a 7mm core warmer, and 7 mm Henderson boots. I know I have a lot of buoyancy with the gear but even with 40+lbs of weight, letting all the air out of the bc and a nice relaxed exhale I can't get under. My instructors gave me a pull to the bottom of the pool to do the bc removal skill but they literally had to hold me down to even try.

Yeesh, that's a lot of neoprene. Just reading 40+ lbs of weight makes my back hurt. Why are you having to wear such a heavy amount of neoprene in the pool? Is it because the ocean dives will require it and they want you to get used it?

Good luck and don't sweat the sinking thing. Everyone has trouble when they first start diving. It will get better as you wear less exposure protection, change equipment and get more comfortable in the water. Enjoy your new hobby and welcome to the boards!

 

[Web Monkey]

I'm taking my OW certification in Northern Ca and I'm having a lot of trouble sinking. I've searched all the posts on weight adjustment but still have questions. I'm a female, 5'7, 200#. I'm wearing a 7mm farmer john with a 7mm core warmer, and 7 mm Henderson boots. I know I have a lot of buoyancy with the gear but even with 40+lbs of weight, letting all the

If I understand the term "Farmer Jon" and "Core Warmer" correctly, you have 14mm of rubber covering parts of you. You're wearing a ton of rubber. I'm amazed you can even move when you're wearing it, and not surprised you have trouble getting under the water.

First, if somone has to pull you under, don't dive until you get your buoyancy fixed. Being that buoyant at the surface with a full tank means it will be almost impossible for you to maintain a 15' safety stop when the tank is mostly empty.

My recomendation would be to try a drysuit. You'll be warmer and should need quite a bit less weight than you do now.

The down side is you'll need to take a drysuit class (it's a short class), then rent or borrow or buy a drysuit. The up side is you'll be warm and able to move, and shouldn't need 40+ lbs to sink.

Also, if they're available to you, using a steel tank instead of aluminum will save you a few pounds on your weight belt.

Terry

 

[lorien]

I am sure some of it is newbie stuff, not being relaxed, breathing patterns, etc. But if you can't stay submerged once down you need more weight. To check put your reg in, hold a "normal" breath with all air out of your bc. You should float at approx. eye level, sink when you exhale and rise when you inhale. Don't hold a big breath as that will just make you more positively bouyant. I had to wear a lot of weight when I first started and I had to wear a lot of neporene as well as the water is just cold here. I have decreased the weight I wear, switched to a steel tank, gotten rid of my ankle weights etc but that all takes time. for now you need enough weight to get you comfortable under the water to do your skills and dives. And, as mentioned, you need enought to be able to maintain depth for your safety stop at the end of the dive with your tank mostly empty which takes a few more pounds. Play with it in the pool, add weight a couple of pounds at a time until you get properly weighted for now. You can work on dropping weight as you become more experienced, we all do/did. And, how much weight you need will change every time you change equipment, how much neoprene you are wearing, going from fresh to salt water etc. Do the standard buoyancy check, add what weight you need to submerge and stay down comfortably, get certified and then as you dive and get more comfortable I am sure you will be able to take some of that weight off your belt. I am also buoyant and have "floaty feet" so for now you might use ankle weights to complete skills if you need them but try to trim yourself out to eliminate the need when and if you can. My steel tank set low helps me a lot but I still have to be ready to compensate for my buoynant feet at times

 

[toodive4]

The most common problems with descent are 1. under-weighted (which you clearly are not - 40 lbs is overweighted - I guarantee that) 2. Air trapped in the BCD (you may think it's all out, but you may have to tilt your body to the right a little farther while holding your deflate button above your head with your left hand. Also try dumping using shoulder exhaust valves on the BCD if you have them) 3. Failure to exhale / relax completely and 4. Kicking your feet while trying to descend (You might not notice this, but many new divers actually keep themselves from sinking by kicking their feet.) Make sure your feet are not moving when trying to descend. A person your size and weight should need no more than 30lbs to get down. If you are using a steel tank you should need no more than 26 pounds. A Good Instructor should be able to figure out your problem... don't be shy... ask for help...

I'm taking my OW certification in Northern Ca and I'm having a lot of trouble sinking. I've searched all the posts on weight adjustment but still have questions. I'm a female, 5'7, 200#. I'm wearing a 7mm farmer john with a 7mm core warmer, and 7 mm Henderson boots. I know I have a lot of buoyancy with the gear but even with 40+lbs of weight, letting all the air out of the bc and a nice relaxed exhale I can't get under. My instructors gave me a pull to the bottom of the pool to do the bc removal skill but they literally had to hold me down to even try. Needless to say this was a bit frustrating and distracting and I wasn't able to get into position to do the skills. When I was able to get under for a time my feet continued to surface and I would find myself back up top. I've picked up ankle weights in hopes it will help with the horizontal when I do get down. Any other ideas? Am I just suffering from the newbie buoyancy syndrome and bad breathing? Any help is appreciated, I'm supposed to do my ocean dive next weekend and I think being underwater would help. :^)

 

[divenut2001]

Yikes,

Sounds like the "main" problem is you're wearing way too much rubber. Try wearing just the 2 piece farmer john or even better a 1 piece suit. A 1 piece will still keep you warm with less neoprene which means needing less weight to get down.

If you had to be held down during the pool sessions then you're not ready to do your OW check out dives. Discuss this with your instructors and request more pool time before this weekend to see if you can work out some of the kinks.